…This is why when we come up with the lists of top searches on Google.com for 2006, we do not simply retrieve the most frequently-searched terms for the period — the truth is, they don’t change that much from year to year. This list would be predominated by very generic searches, such as “ebay”, “dictionary”, “yellow pages,” “games,” “maps” — and of course, a number of X-rated keywords. These are constants, and although unquestionably popular, we don’t think they actually define the Zeitgeist.

Instead, we looked for those searches that were very popular in 2006 but were not as popular in 2005 — the explosive queries, the topics that everyone obsessed over. To come up with this list, we looked at several thousand of 2006’s most popular searches, and ranked them based on how much their popularity increased compared to 2005. (“Bebo”, for example, had very little traffic in 2005.) We also gave a bit higher score to searches with more traffic. Similarly, our “what is” and “who is” lists are not necessarily the absolute most frequent searches, but rather those that best represent the passing year.

As you review your own keyword top searches, I think their point is good to keep in mind.

So would “horse sex” be on my list of top keyword searches for this blog? No. While it is the top keyword search term, it really doesn’t have anything to do with the content of my blog. So I would eliminate off my top keyword search list.

Other words I would also eliminate that appear in my top incoming search terms would be sexy, free, and photos. These are just too generic.

The process of eliminating words from your top keyword search list is as important as determining your top keywords search results and monitoring them.

How do you determine your own zeitgeist? Are there words you eliminate to get a more specific list?